Buffing wheel



G. R. CHURCHILL 2,687,602

Aug. 3l, 1954 BUFFING WHEEL 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 9, 1950 14 jo\ E211 HTTOMEV Aug. 3l, 1954 G. R. CHURCHILL 'BUFFING WHEEL Filed Aug. 9, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 co 16 i140 44 Y Zarl- .lg INVENTOR.

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Patented Aug. 31, 1954 im oFFIcE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a bufng Wheel.

In general, the invention is an improvement upon the bufng wheel forming the subject matter of my United States Patent' No. 2,146,284 and has for an object to provide a novel and improved buh'ing wheel of the type illustrated in said patent which may be economically manufactured and which may be used with advantage in performing bufing operations for which such prior buing wheels are unsuited.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved buflng wheel of the type specified having duplex bulng sections and which is further characterized by structure presenting a bufng surface of substantially uniform density, increased flexibility, and a greater capacity for retaining a buing compound than prior buiiing Wheels of which I am aware.

With these general objects in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the buing wheel hereinafter described and particularly dened in the claims at the end of this specication.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the present bufng wheel; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig, 4 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Fig. 3 and illustrating a modied form of the present buing wheel; Figs. 5 to 8 are diagrammatic views illustrating the steps preferably followed in folding one form of a bufng element employed in producing the present bufng wheel; Figs. 9, 10, and l1 are diagrammatic views illustrating the steps preferably followed in folding a modied form of bufng element employed in producing the present bufling wheel; and Fig. 12 is a crosssectional view taken on the line lZ-IZ of Fig. 4, and illustrating the modified form of bufling element shown in Fig. 11.

In general, the present invention contemplates a cloth bufng wheel section adapted to be mounted side by side with other sections and clamped together on a rotary arbor to form a buing wheel unit of the desired width. The commercial individual buing wheel sections illustrated in my patent above referred to comprised a ring of connected and radially extended bufling elements wherein each element was formed by folding a relatively wide sheet of cloth to form a relatively flat bufng element of substantial width and then stitching the multiple layers of folded cloth longitudinally of the elements. Such elements were then connected to form a ring wherein the flat or narrow edges of the elements were disposed in substantial alignment at right angles to the axis of the arbor whereby to produce a relatively stiff, narrow, and extremely durable bung section particularly adapted for use in bung relatively hard materials.

In accordance with the present invention, a buing Wheel section is provided having a relatively Wider and more flexible working face adapted for universal use to eiect an efficient bung operation upon a wide variety of work. The bufling wheel section herein illustrated comprises one or more rings of radially extended bufng elements, the present buing section being preferably illustrated in duplex form, and in which each buil'ing element is made up of a relatively short lengthof cloth folded to produce a multiple-ply element which is itself folded longitudinally so that it has Wings extending circumferentially in the same direction from the fold and is thus substantially V-shaped in cross section.

in nesting relation with the points of the V aligned vertically at right angles to the axis of the ring so that when assembled in ring form, the free ends of the V-shaped multiply elements spread out laterally to present a relatively wide bufting face of substantially uniform density and moderate flexibility. The plurality of folds in the free ends of the relatively closely spaced and multiple-ply V-shaped elements in nested relation also presents, in appearance, a honeycomb structure that provides a maximum number of pockets in which the buing compound may be retained. When made in duplex form, the nested V-shaped elements of adjacent rings are preferably arranged in opposite directions so that a duplex section may be placed on an arbor to rotate in either direction.

In a modified form of the invention, the buiiing elements may be folded sothat the free ends of the buing elements present a substantially N- shape in cross section, adjacent relatively closely spaced N-shaped elements in a bufng ring being also arranged in nested relation to provide a relatively wide and resilient buing surface and having pockets for the buing compound formed in both directions by the reversely folded portions of the N.

In each embodiment of the invention the points or folds of the V or N-shaped elements are arranged in vertical nested alignment about the In practice, adjacent connected ele-- ments are relatively closely spaced and arrangedv periphery of the ring forming folds or pleats having legs or wings adapted to spread apart laterally when engaged by the work to be buffed, thereby covering a greater area of the work with maximum uniformity and without effecting streaking of the work.

Referring now to the drawings, ID represents a duplex bung wheel section embodying the present invention, each duplex section comprising two rings I2 of connected and radially extended cloth bufng elements indicated at I4. In practice, the bung elements I4 may be held together adjacent one end thereof by wires I5 woven around the individual buiiing elements to form a chain of connected elements, the requisite length of such a chain of connected bufng elements being formed into a circular shape and joined at its ends to form a closed ring I2. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, two of such rings may be secured to a central supporting disk I8 to form a buing section, the rings being preferably separated slightly by an annular spacing member indicated at 2B.

In general, in one embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the rings I2 may be mounted on and. secured to one side of the supporting disk I8, or as illustrated in Fig. 4, in another embodiment of the invention the supporting disk IS may be disposed intermediate of the two rings with a ring secured to each side of the disk.

As illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8, one form of buffing element I4 preferably employed in producing the present bumng section may be formed by rst folding an extended length of cloth 22 twice upon itself to form a four-ply strip 24, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and then folding the longitudinal or marginal edges 25, 23 of the fourply strip inwardly in overlapping relation, each edge being folded inwardly about one-third of the width of the four-ply strip, with one wing portion reversely folded inwardly on itself, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, thus forming a twelveply strip. The reversely folded wing, of course, contains more plies than the other wing which is more flexible. A plurality of such strips or bufling elements I4 are then connected together adjacent one end thereof by the weaving wires I6, leaving the opposite ends and unconi-lned portions of the elements free to assume a substantially V-shape, as shown in Fig. 8, one leg of the V having eight plies comprising the folded portions 24, 2S, and the other leg having four plies comprising the folded portion 28, two of which plies comprise the exposed marginal edges 34 of the length of cloth 22.

Another form of bufling element IM which may be employed in producing the present bufling section, and in which the marginal edges of the cloth strip are concealed, is illustrated in Fig. 11, which may be formed by folding opposed edges of a length of cloth 36 inwardly to meet at a point 38 offset to one side of a medial line of the two-ply strip thus formed, as shown in Fig. 9, and then folding the two-ply strip along the offset line 38 confining the marginal edges 39 and forming a four-ply strip 40 having a twoply extended portion 42, as shown in Fig. 10. The strip thus formed is then folded into a substantially N shape, the two-ply extended portion 42 being folded upwardly and over the adjacent edge of the four-ply portion 40, and the four-ply portion being folded downwardly and upon itself to form a ten-ply strip or buing element |40, as shown in Fig. 11. The ten-ply strip is likewise confined at one end by the weaving wires, as described, leaving the opposite ends and unconned portions of the buiilng element free to spread open and assume a substantially N shape, one leg 44 of the N having four plies including the concealed edges 39 of the strip, the intermediate portion 48 of the N also having four plies, and the other leg of the N comprising the extended portion 42 having two plies.

From the description thus far, it will be observed that the unconiined and substantially V-shaped and/or N-shaped cross-section buffing elements thus formed provide a relatively wide bufng or working face having substantial resiliency and flexibility. In practice, the V and/or N-shaped bufflng elements are preferably connected together at one end by the weaving wires in relatively closely spaced relation and in a manner such that the outer or unconned portions of the elements are arranged in nested relation, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 12, thus providing a relativelyV uniform distribution or density of the cloth across the width of the working face adapted for efcient operation upon either hard or soft work. It will also be observed that the multiplicity of folds formed by the nested and relatively closely spaced V or N-shaped elements provide a plurality of pockets substantially increasing the capacity of the buing wheel for retaining the bufng compound applied thereto. Fig. 12 illustrates more clearly the conformity of the M-shaped folds at an inner portion of the buffing section such as would appear after the section is partially worn down and showing the multiplicity of pockets formed by the closely spaced nested folds in which the compound may be retained.

The supporting disk I3 may and preferably will comprise a relatively thin sheet metal disk having a central opening defined by a relatively short inwardly extended ange 5G of a diameter such as to fit over the arbor on which the sections are mounted, and a cardboard or like material reinforcing ring 52 of a thickness substantially equal to the height of the flange 50 may be fitted over the flange and secured to the inner face of the disk I8 preferably by staples 54 extended through the ring 52 and with the ends of the staples clinched over and against the opposite face of the metal disk I8. The annular spacing member 2Q may also comprise a ring of cardboard or like material having an inside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the bufiing rings I2 and having an outside diameter extended beyond the diameter defined by the weaving wires I6 and corresponding substantially to the outside diameter of the supporting disk I8.

In assembling the duplex form of bufng section illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein the two buffing rings I2 are mounted on one side of the supporting disk I8 with an annular spacer 20 disposed intermediate the bufng rings, the parts are arranged in concentric relation as shown and may be secured together by a plurality of staples, preferably two circular and substantially concentric rows of staples 56, 58 extended through the entire thickness of the bufng wheel section, the staples being preferably driven through from the cloth side of the section and with the ends of the staples clinched over the outer face of the metal disk I8. In practice, one row 5G of staples is preferably disposed within the diameter dened by the weaving wires I6, and the other row 58 is disposed beyond the diameter of the weaving wires, as illustrated, thus providing a row of staples on each side of the wires I6, and both rows of staples extending through the spacer 20.

In assembling the duplex buing section illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein the two rings I2 are mounted one on either side of the supporting disk I8, one of the bufling rings I2 is first arranged concentrically with the disk I8 and with the spacer 2U intermediate the one ring and the disk, the parts being then secured together by a circular row of staples 60 disposed within the diameter of the weaving wires I6 and driven through from the cloth side with the ends of the staples clinched over the metal disk. The second buiing ring I2 is then placed on the other side of the disk I3 and secured to the previously formed section by a lcircular row of staples B2 disposed beyond the weaving wires IS and extended through the entire section as illustrated.

In both embodiments of the duplex buil-ing sections above described, the spacer may preferably be of a thickness proportionate to the thickness of the buing rings i2 so as to effect a relatively uniform distribution of the cloth across the working face of the duplex section. The spacer also permits air to enter between the rings to produce a cooling effect.

In practice, adjacent buiing rings I2 of a duplex builing section having V-shaped buiiing elements are preferably arranged with the nested V-shaped bung elements I4 of one ring directed opposite to those of the adjacent ring as illustrated in Fig. 2 whereby a buinng section may be assembled on an arbor to rotate in either direction with equal eihciency. A duplex bufng section having adjacent bumng rings made up of N-shaped buiiing elements are provided with pockets formed in both directions by the reversely folded portions of the N and may be arranged to rotate in either direction on the arbor.

In the manufacture of the present buiflng wheel sections, each bulling ring is preferably made up of a relatively large number of closely spaced and nested radial bufng elements, in which each individual bufng element is made up of a relatively small area of cloth, so that although each individual buing element is quite flexible in itself, the cumulative `'effect of a relatively large number of elements in closely spaced relation provides a relativelyr hard working face while at the same time maintaining suincient flexibility so that the bufng wheel is capable of performing an eflicient buiiing operation upon substantially any type of work encountered in practice. The cloth from which the buing yelements are made is preferably cut on the bias for longer wear. It will also be observed that the vertically aligned V or N-shaped formation of the bufng elements permits lateral spreading of the legs or wings of the closely spaced and nested elements when they are engaged by the work to be bufed so as to cover a relatively wider buliing area with maximum uniformity of buffing surface and avoiding streaking of the work. The present bulng wheel sections are also economical in use since the relatively wider working face of each section and particularly a duplex section enables a bufling wheel of a predetermined width to be made up of relatively fewer sections. For example, six of the present duplex sections will make up a buffing wheel or roll of a width equal to that obtained by using nine of the prior sections so that a substantial saving in initial cost is afforded to the customer.

From the above description, it will be observed that the present structure of bufng wheel may be economically manufactured, and provides a relatively wide bung face with a substantially uniform density or distribution of the cloth across the working face to form a relatively flexible and resilient buffng wheel having a plurality of pockets for retaining a buing compound and adapted for universal use upon various types of work to be buffed.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a buiiing wheel section, comprising: a ring of elongated individual cloth bufling elements initially of rectangular configuration, the individual cloth buffing elements having their longitudinal axes substantially coinciding with radii of the bufng Wheel section and being composed of a small number of plies so that the element is iiexible and not stii, said bufiing elements also being folded longitudinally thereof to provide confronting wing portions extending circumferentially in the same general direction from the longitudinal fold between said wing portions, one of said wing portions being reversely folded on itself to provide more plies therein than are present in the other wing portion whereby one wing portion is rendered more flexible than the other, the inner end of each buil-lng element being compressed and bunched into a solid substantially cylindrical form and disposed in side by side relation with respect to adjacent bufng elements in said ring, said bufling elements being partially nested radially outwardly from their bunched inner ends and being otherwise disconnected from one another except at their hunched inner ends, the bunching of the inner ends of said buiiing elements cooperating with the flexibility of the same to effect flaring of the unbunched portions and the separation of the plies thereof at and near the working face of the bufdng wheel section when in use, whereby to facilitate air cooling thereof and to impart to the working face of the bufng wheel section a honeycomb structure of broken appearance formed by the separation of said plies and the interstices between adjacent plies of the individual buiiing elements; a rigid disk; and means extending through and fastening the inner bunched ends of said buing elements to said disk, said honeycomb structure allowing the individual buing elements at the working face of the wheel to flex both radially and laterally about the fastened bunched inner ends of said buiiing elements when the work is pressed against the wheel to impart nonstreaking characteristics to the finish on the work.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a duplex bufling wheel section, comprising: a pair of confronting rings, each ring including a plurality of elongated individual cloth buing elements initially of rectangular configuration, the individual cloth bufing elements having their longitudinal axes substantially coinciding with radii of the bufling wheel section and being composed of a small number of plies so that the element is flexible and not stiff, said buiiing elements also being folded longitudinally thereof to provide confronting wing portions extending circumferentially in the same general direction from the longitudinal fold between said wing portions, one of said wing portions being reversely folded on itself to pro-f vide more plies therein than are present in the other wing portion whereby one wing portion is rendered more flexible than the other, the inner end of each buing element being cornpressed and bunched into a solid substantially cylindrical form andr disposed in side by side relation with respect toV adjacent buing elements in said ring, said buing elements being partially nested radially outwardly from their bunched inner ends and being otherwise disconnected from one another except at their bunched inner ends, the bunching of the inner ends of said bung elements cooperating with the flexibility of the same to effect daring of the unbunched portions and the separation of the plies thereof at and near the working face of the bufng Wheel section when in use, whereby to facilitate air cooling thereof and to impart to the working face of the bufng wheel section a lhoneycomb structure of broken appearance formed by the separation of said plies and the interstices between adjacent plies of the individual bung elements; a rigid disk disposed between said pair of buffing rings; and means connecting together in spaced relation said pair of bung rings to form a unitary duplex structure, said means including mounting disk means and means extending through said mounting disk means, rigid disk and the inner bunched ends of said bu'ing elements References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 981,841 Co'dman et al Jan. 17, 1911 2,010,106 Pfohl Aug. 6, 1935 2,146,284 Churchill Feb. 7, 1939 

